China to temporarily close border with Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan

Beijing
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Chinese border authorities stated that it will temporarily close its border with neighboring Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan for the May 1 Labor Day holiday.

On Tuesday, a checkpoint employee in China said the government will close its border with Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan for the May 1 Labor Day holiday, which begins on Friday and ends on Tuesday, according to RTHK.

The move by Chinese authorities is to tighten security for the opening of the Shanghai Expo this weekend, which is expected to draw about 70 million visitors during its half-year run, reports Today Online. The marquee event begins on Saturday with many world leaders attending.

However, during a news conference on Tuesday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu denied any knowledge of border closure, reports the Malaysian Star, “The border area is in a stable condition. I don't have any information.”

Itar-Tass, a Russian news agency, did confirm with Krygyzstan border control and they did verify that China made the decision to close the border with Kyrgyzstan. They did not provide a reason why.

Kyrgyzstan has been engulfed in chaos and political turmoil since this month’s upheaval, which saw hundreds injured and dozens die when the Parliament was dissolved and President Kurmanbek Bakiyev was ousted and forced to resign.